John (Program #50) – Life in Resurrection (1)

John 1:14 says, the Word became flesh. That means the Word, who was God, became something that He previous was not. When God came out of eternity into time to accomplish His plan, He became flesh. In this sense, God did change.

When we cover these two aspects (God being unchanging and God having changed), what we’re touching is the mystery of the Divine Trinity. So, what we need to do is look at the entire Bible and just say Amen to whatever the Bible says about the Triune God. On the one hand, you know people uses this verse Malachi 3:6, which says that God changes not. And, this is true. But of course, if you look at the context of Malachi 3:6, it’s talking about that God changes not in his principles, in the way that He deals with His people. But also, we know that the Bible shows that God in His eternal being is unchanging. The Bible reveals that the Triune God, the three of the Godhead. On the one hand, they are distinct. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are eternally distinct, but they also co-inhere. That means that they mutually indwell one another. The Father is in the Son. The Son is in the Father. The Father is in the Spirit. more…

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Numbers (Program #6) – Being Formed into an Army (7)

In the Old Testament arrangement, all those who were born in the line of Aaron were designated automatically to the priesthood.  To be a priest was not available to everyone.  But the Lord made a provision for any among God’s people who voluntarily choose to serve Him in an absolute way.  It was called the vow of the Nazarite.  Under the provision of this vow, a person’s living and characteristics were subjected to the highest and strictest standard.  Though such a formal vow with its restrictions is not directly associated with the New Testament economy, in principle, the Lord desires all of His children to be real Nazarite even today, just as the Lord Jesus lived so absolutely for God and to God.  As we look into the vow of the Nazarite on today’s life study.

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Numbers (Program #5) – Being Formed into an Army (5 – 6)

There is a lot of talk about spiritual warfare among believers.  Nearly all Christians have realization that there is a battle that must be waged if we are to prevail against God’s enemy.  But what are the factors that we can see from the Old Testament books like Numbers that can be helpful to us in allowing God to form us into an army to fight for Him and with Him for the accomplishment of His purpose?  We will see several things we can begin to apply immediately in our individual and corporate Christian walk on today’s program.

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John (Program #49) – Life Processed for Multiplication (4)

Let us all let the wind blow where it wills. And, instead of trying to systematize or schematize the experience of the Spirit, let’s experience the Spirit for the carrying out of God’s economy, letting God truly be God.

John 20 is in many respects, a chapter of realization or actualization. By using these terms, I’m trying to say, that in this chapter we have the reality in actual experience of what the Lord revealed concerning His process elsewhere in the Gospel. He made it emphatically clear in chapters 14 through 16 that He needed to go, that is, die on the cross, and come again, that is come into the disciples as the pneumatic Christ in order to indwell them. He had, as the first half of the Gospel emphasizes, become flesh and tabernacled among human kind. But, God’s goal is to be in His chosen and redeemed people, not merely among them.

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John (Program #48) – Life Processed for Multiplication (3)

I really like this marvelous term here. “Go tell my brothers.” In the Gospel of John, He was with these disciples a lot, but He never referred to them as brothers. He always called them either by name or referred to them as friends. But, after His resurrection for the first time, He calls them brothers.

In this Gospel, the presentation of the crucifixion is really more complete and more meaningful than you have it in the other three Gospels. First, the account here brings out the two aspects of the Lord’s death by mentioning two substances, which came out of the Lord’s side when the soldier pierced Him. When the soldier pierced Him, out came blood and water. The blood of Christ there is to answer to our need for the dealing with sin. The blood of Christ cleanses us from every sin. And, the water that came out is really meeting the need for our life. Water in the scripture is often a picture of life. There’s the water of life that’s in the book of Revelation. And, there’s the water that flowed out of the rock in the Old Testament. So, water really means life, the imparting of life.

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Numbers (Program #4) – Being Formed into an Army (3 – 4)

After the children of Israel escaped the tyranny of Egypt and built a tabernacle in the wilderness according to the plan God showed Moses, the Lord set about forming an army to protect His testimony and fight against His enemies.  Members of each of the various tribes were called to serve in this army, saved one, the tribe of Levite.  To them it was given not to fight directly but to serve God in the tabernacle in a holy service and ministry.  Today God’s people are still called upon to war against His enemy and to fight to protect His testimony on the earth.  Just as in ancient time, God needs His people to minister and serve Him in His dwelling place on earth.  Another wonderful picture of a New Testament reality awaits us today from the Old Testament book of Numbers.

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John (Program #46) – Life Processed for Multiplication (1)

The main thing is that these garments were left there in this orderly way as a testimony of His resurrection. This was not something like someone got in and stole His body as reported. No. He did this Himself. He resurrected.

The account of the crucifixion in the Gospel of John is different in the fact that it brings out these two aspects(redemption and imparting life). In the other Gospels it only mentions the redemptive aspect. But, in the Gospel of John, you do have the two aspects which are shown by the two substances that came out of His side. In verse 34 of chapter 19, it says, “one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.” When the soldier pierced His side, out came blood; that’s for the redemptive aspect. And water, that’s for the life aspect.

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Numbers (Program #3) – Being Formed into an Army (2)

A central feature of the Old Testament was the tabernacle with the Ark of the Covenant.  Once built, God then formed His people into an army and arrayed them around the tabernacle in an orderly even beautiful fashion.  God’s people, properly ordered and arrayed around His testimony is a beautiful picture in His eyes.  Yet regrettably, it’s difficult to see such an orderly and beautiful picture today.

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John (Program #45) – Life’s Prayer (4)

Because of the deceit of religion and the darkness of politics, He was delivered to death. He was proved to be without fault, but religion and politics were exposed to be dark, deceitful, and corrupt.

We’ve come today to the section of John 18 through 20 dealing with the Lord’s death on the cross and His resurrection. Generally, we consider the Lord’s death in relationship to the work of redemption. But we will see once again today that this Gospel, though certainly not minimizing the redemptive aspect, has another emphasis; the release and multiplication of life which resulted from Christ’s death.

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Numbers (Program #2) – Being Formed into an Army (1)

The first five books of the Bible are generally attributed to Moses and they formed a unit commonly referred to as the Pentateuch.  The fourth of this series is the book of Numbers, perhaps the most obscure among the five.  Outwardly it seems simple enough not overly inspiring for chronicles the numbering of God’s people Israel for the purpose of forming them into an army to fight for God’s testimony as they travel for 40 years through wilderness.  But if our eyes are open, our spirit set to receive God’s divine light, we can see the whole of the divine revelation express in picture forms through its pages.  Even the key elements of Christ’s ministry on earth and the ultimate consummation of the Bible, New Jerusalem are depicted here in Numbers.  Seem dubious?  Well stay tune.

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